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Fine polystyrene microplastics render immune responses more vulnerable to two veterinary antibiotics in a bivalve species
Summary
Researchers investigated how fine polystyrene microplastics interact with veterinary antibiotics oxytetracycline and florfenicol to affect the immune system of blood clams. The study found that antibiotics alone caused significant immune suppression, and the co-presence of microplastics significantly amplified these toxic effects, suggesting that microplastics can make marine bivalves more vulnerable to chemical pollutants.
Living in close proximity to the sediment of coastal areas, bivalves may be exposed to veterinary antibiotic residuals and microplastics (MPs) simultaneously. However, the immunotoxic impacts of veterinary antibiotics remain unknown in bivalves, let alone their interactions with MPs. Therefore, the immune responses of two representative veterinary antibiotics, oxytetracycline and florfenicol, was investigated in a bivalve species, the blood clam (Tegillarca granosa). The effects of the copresence of MPs on the immune responses triggered by these antibiotics were also analyzed. Results showed that exposure to antibiotics investigated led to significant alteration in hematic parameters and reduction in lectin content in serum. In addition to inducing ROS production, aggravating lipid peroxidation and DNA damage, and suppressing the hemocyte viability, antibiotic treatments also downregulated the expression of immune- and detoxification-related genes but upregulated apoptosis-related Caspase-3. Furthermore, the toxic impacts of antibiotics were found to be significantly increased by the copresence of MPs.